Gigabyte Laptops For Gaming, Streaming And Editing

 

 

Whilst the latest 12th-Gen Intel Core and Ryzen processors can handle multi-tasking at all budget levels, it is also necessary - where gaming is the main focus - that Nvidia's powerful mobile RTX GPUs are able to provide immersive, mouth-watering visuals that are comparable to their desktop counterparts.

Choosing between a desktop and mobile gaming rig is a weighted decision for gamers, and the cost difference of the two options has narrowed substantially thanks to the GPU market. A gaming laptop and pre-built gaming PC with an RTX 3060 graphics card and comparable CPU have only got a small amount of difference in price, with the desktop option being the most expensive. Granted, that is without a monitor.

Comparison: 

The three laptops we're looking at today cover the gamut of gaming laptop price ranges, all with RTX graphics cards, and all with high-end 1080p capabilities. For creators and creative laptop users, the specs allow fast editing, design and rendering, from Photoshop to Premiere Pro, Blender to DaVinci Resolve and beyond.

Gigabyte Gaming Laptops Compared: Gigabyte AORUS 15P KD 15.6" RTX 3060 vs. Gigabyte AORUS 5 SE4 15.6" RTX 3070 vs. Gigabyte AORUS 17 YE5 17.3" Core i7

Whilst these laptops could immediately be separated by price alone (and would have made for a much shorter article, thinking about it) what we will also look at is their ability to deliver performance in multiple disciplines, and how Gigabyte design their laptops for a range of users. The sharper-eyed among our readers will also notice that there's no Ryzen at these price points. Whether this is a decision by Gigabyte based on market sentiment right now (Intel has become the forerunner in desktop and mobile gaming thanks to Alder Lake), or one based on parts price alone, there are no AMD contenders from our stock of gaming laptops that fit the bill.

Gigabyte Gaming Laptop Pedigree

Among the top ranks of gaming laptops, Gigabyte have consistently added value to their gaming-targeted SKUs, with proprietary technologies that make them a formidable opponent in any comparison table.

Best In Class Cooling

Gigabyte have long held the title for cooling in the mobile arena, with their Windforce technologies. Appearing in everything from power supplies, to GPUs to laptops, Windforce takes care of a major factor in gaming - adequate cooling and thermal control.

By utilising gigantic fans, heatpipes and intelligent venting, Gigabyte Windforce enables CPUs and GPUs to deliver 100% output without compromise.

Gaming Focused Keyboards

Designed for predictable feedback when typing and durable enough to withstand long gaming sessions, Gigabyte's backlit laptop keyboards are recognised for quality and long term reliability.

With the Aorus range, Gigabyte provide tactile mechanical switches in their keyboards, with Fusion- Keyboard control software for completely customisable, individual key backlighting, and an ultra-durable keystroke lifespan of up to 15 million times.

7.1 Surround Sound

NAHIMIC 3 is a next gen 7.1 virtual surround sound innovation from Gigabyte providing an outstanding sound experience. Gamers can rely on a true 3D surround effect with customised tuning, for complete immersion regardless of the playing environment.

MAX-Q Technologies

Gigabyte's adoption of MAX-Q technology in their laptops is a given, considering their ability to cool even the most thermally challenged components. Max-Q graphics graphics cards can fit in thin profile laptops because Nvidia has focused on optimizing them for “peak efficiency”.

Instead of ramping up clock speeds, memory buses and voltages to achieve the best performance, engineers tuned the GPUs to attain the best performance possible within thermal parameters and without a compromised acoustic output. In other words, the cards are designed to visually and physically perform at their best, specifically within a small chassis, without sounding like an Airbus is readying for take-off. Unfortunately, this has been met with some derisive comments on performance in some reviews, but Nvidia zeroing in on performance in the long term is something that should be commended, not least because it takes battery life and profile into consideration - both huge factors to mobile gamers.

"Max-Q is a system wide approach to deliver high performance in thin and light gaming laptops. Every aspect of the laptop, chip, software, PCB design, power delivery, and thermals, are optimized for power and performance. Our 3rd gen Max-Q technologies use AI and new system optimizations to make high performance gaming laptops faster and better than ever." - Gigabyte

DYNAMIC BOOST 2.0

An AI-powered power boost between the mobile graphics card, GPU memory, and processor for a more noticeable performance boost than ever before.

"The AI networks in Dynamic Boost 2.0 manage power on a per-frame basis, so your laptop is constantly optimizing for maximum performance while you’re gaming and creating." - Gigabyte

RESIZABLE BAR

Resizable BAR is an advanced PCIe (PCI Express) feature enabling mobile CPUs to access the entire GPU frame buffer at once, to deliver performance increases in a number of AAA and top titles.

Gigabyte Aorus Range

The Aorus range of laptops from Gigabyte have established themselves in the higher echelons of gaming power, not least because of the top performing 11th-Gen and 12th-Gen CPU, graphics card and whacking great 32GB DDR4 RAM at the top end. Gigabyte take the package one step further by ensuring the experience is complete with a raft of top-billing extras we've come to expect Aorus laptops.

• Thunderbolt™ 4 connectivity
• AORUS Fusion lighting customisation
• 300Hz gaming display
• OMRON mechanical switch keyboard
• HDMI 2.1 support
• Galaxy-black aluminium body
• Wi-Fi 6
• DTS:X Ultra support

Couple all of these excellent features with ability to take care of the streaming, editing and creative tasks of a modern gamer, and you start to piece together what is - by far - Gigabyte's best entry yet as an all-rounder that currently (surprisingly) hovers around the £2000 mark. Creators will benefit from the ultra-fast Thunderbolt 4 connectivity of the Gigabyte AORUS 17 YE5 17.3" Core i7, the huge 32GB 3200 MHz memory and can rely on the Core i7 12700H to get rendering & encoding jobs done quickly.

Last Word

Gigabyte are always good for passing on savings to their end users, and as new technology surfaces in 2023 (read: yet more Intel ARC and new Raptor Lake mobile CPUs), be ready to jump on deals that start to appear on these laptops.